


Fish Pirozhki

by Kateli



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Angst, M/M, POV Nikolai Plisetsky, We named Hasetsu Fisherman Uosan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 03:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12181998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kateli/pseuds/Kateli
Summary: Nikolai Plisetsky finally perfects the recipe for life and love.





	Fish Pirozhki

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired when the YOI Prompts Weekly generator spit out Nikolai Plisetsky and the Hasetsu Fisherman when we were experimenting with it. It then spiraled out of control in the Rare Pairs channel on The Madness server.
> 
> I really expected this to be crack but... it's kind of serious and fluffy and a little angsty? Who would have thought that this particular pairing would create this? I'm actually really proud of it. I cried while I wrote it. I hope you enjoy it, too!
> 
> Check out the YOI_Prompts_Weekly collection here on AO3, and come visit us on [tumblr](http://yoipromptsweekly.tumblr.com) where we'll be generating random pairings and prompts each and every week!

It was the happiest day of Nikolai Plisetsky’s life.

 

The smile on his grandson’s face was brighter than he’d ever seen it. It reminded Nikolai of his late wife, Yuri’s grandmother, who had passed before Yuri had been born. He imagined her here beside him. How might things be different if she were still with them? How would  _ Yuri  _ be different?

 

Maybe he would have been a happier kid, maybe he would have been more like her, calmer and kinder. Maybe, just maybe Nikolai would feel more confident in how he raised Yuri if they’d still had her.

 

But if that were true, so many things would have been different. Would Yuri still be _ his Yura?  _ Nikolai wouldn’t change him for the world. And now, finally, Yuri was happy, healthy, and prospering.

 

The mix of conflicting emotions brought tears to his eyes as he watched his Yura dancing with his new husband, lights dancing across their shining faces.

 

“They are a very beautiful couple. Very happy together,” commented a heavily accented voice to his right.

 

Turning, Nikolai saw that a middle-aged Japanese man had claimed the seat beside him while everyone else took to the dance floor. He recognized the man from the ceremony. He had stood as Yuri’s Best Man, which many guests had taken to be some kind of joke on the part of the surly, sometimes disagreeable young man.Nikolai had discovered to his delight that his grandson and this Hasetsu local were true friends.

 

Until now, Nikolai had only heard the two Yuris conversing with the fisherman in Japanese. He hadn’t been certain that the man could speak English.

 

“I feel very lucky that Yuri has found someone to love him and love in return,” Nikolai said, dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief. He was not ashamed to show his emotions. The Plisetskys had always worn their hearts on their sleeves. Yura certainly did, and Nikolai honored him today by expressing his own happiness and pride.

 

The man smiled. He had straight, even teeth. His hair was dark and thick, but beginning to gray around the ears. He wore a beautiful dark blue suit. The boys had chosen a lovely color scheme—the dark blue suited this man as well as it did the other best man, Yuuri’s Thai friend Phichit, and Viktor, who officiated.

 

“Thank you for being a friend to my Yura. I always worried about him, because he seemed angry so often, and I wondered if it were my fault somehow,” Nikolai admitted.

 

“Yuri is passionate. He needs to focus his energy. He has found someone who helps him. Yuuri has always been very focused,” the man said, patting Nikolai’s forearm.

 

Nikolai’s eyes welled up again as he placed his hand over the other man’s and squeezed gently in thanks. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

 

“Uosan!” Viktor said loudly, already quite inebriated. “Konbanwa!”

 

Viktor draped an arm around Uosan’s shoulders, chattering away in Japanese.

 

Nikolai looked on helplessly, Uosan’s hand still resting on his forearm. He wondered if he should have prepared for the wedding by learning some Japanese, but he figured it would just frustrate him at his age.

 

Viktor seemed to realize his faux pas. “Kolya! So sorry! I was just saying that it was such a beautiful ceremony,” he laughed at his own joke. “I’m kidding, I’m not so self-absorbed, but it was, wasn’t it? Did I do okay? Your approval means a lot to me.”

 

“You did a wonderful job, Vitya,” Nikolai smiled. “The boys appreciated it. No one could have done it better.”

 

“I’m so glad!” Viktor said. He leaned over Uosan conspiratorily, nearly spilling his wine on their beautiful blue suits. “Do you want to know a secret?”

 

“What’s that?”

 

“It’s all thanks to us that this is even happening!” he crowed, gesturing between himself and the man he still had trapped under his arm. “I came to Japan because I had a crush on Yuuri. I know, so scandalous, right? I was his  _ coach!  _ And today I got to  _ marry him!” _

 

Viktor laughed at his own joke again. Uosan laughed along.

 

“I married them both! Both Yuris! It’s so great. Anyway, I was in Japan because I had a crush on Yuuri, because he pole dan– oh, maybe you don’t want to know that about him. That’s too far,” Viktor was blushing now, presumably from embarrassment as much as the alcohol. “Well, anyway, when Yuri came to Japan, it was Uosan who pointed him in our direction!”

 

“He was yelling for Viktor on the bridge. I thought, ‘oh, here is another fan of Viktor’s, just like Yuuri, Yuuko, and the triplets,’” Uosan confirmed, “So I sent him to Ice Castle.”

 

“You did! You did!” Viktor was fully hugging Uosan now, resting his head on the man’s shoulder.

 

“Then I thought, ‘this is another Russian boy, maybe he knows Viktor,’ which was true,” Uosan continued, wrapping his free arm around Viktor. His other hand still rested on Nikolai’s arm, which Nikolai was becoming increasingly preoccupied by. “I thought, ‘maybe this boy is in love with Viktor and is jealous of our Yuuri!’”

 

“Oh my God, no! Please tell me you didn’t really think that!” Viktor shouted before finishing off his glass of wine.

 

“He went looking for you, and he found Yuuri, so in the end, it all worked out,” Uosan said.

 

“It did, didn’t it?” Viktor sighed wistfully as he detached himself from Uosan and stood up unsteadily. “Time for more wine! I’ll see you both later!”

 

They descended into comfortable silence. Or what would have been comfortable silence if Nikolai were not so distracted by Uosan’s hand still resting below his elbow.

 

“Yuri told me that you baked the… buns?” Uosan said eventually.

 

“Oh, yes!” Nikolai responded, glad to fill in the silence. “Pirozhki. I have always made them for Yura. Did you try the katsudon pirozhki?”

 

“I did,” Uosan smiled widely. “It was very good.”

 

“Hiroko helped me perfect my recipe this week.”

 

“Oh, yes, Hiroko makes the best katsudon!” Uosan agreed.

 

They fell once again into companionable silence.

 

 

 

Nikolai watched his grandson smiling brightly on the dance floor again two years later. He didn’t think anything could light Yuri up the way Yuuri did, especially the way he had on the day of their wedding, but here they were again, and Yuri seemed happier than ever.

 

It hadn’t been easy to get here, and Nikolai had been deeply worried about it for a long time. The first conversation hadn’t gone well. He couldn’t think of a time when he had been quite as nervous as he was the night he told his grandsons what was in his heart.

 

“You can’t be gay, Dedushka.  _ I’m  _ gay!” had been Yuri’s initial response.

 

“I’m not gay, Yuratchka. I’m just an old man who has been lonely for a long time and has found someone who makes him happy.”

 

“Sounds pretty gay to me.” Yuri got up and left the room, slamming the door to his and Yuuri’s bedroom behind him.

 

_ I’ve made a terrible mistake,  _ he’d thought in that moment. Maybe Yuri was right… could he pursue a relationship with a man and not be gay? He thought of his late wife, and he loved her still. He couldn’t be gay.

 

“I’m sorry about him, Kolya,” Yuuri had finally said, quietly breaking the heavy silence settling uncomfortably on their shoulders. “I promise you he’s not angry. He’ll come around.”

 

“Of course he’s angry, this is Yuri we’re talking about.”

 

“What I mean is…” Yuuri paused. “Hasetsu is a small town. It’s not like Moscow. Everyone has been talking for weeks, maybe even months. Yuri is just upset that you didn’t tell him sooner.”

 

Yuuri had been right, of course. Yuri spent weeks being especially aggressive, most of all toward Uosan (who took it entirely in stride, of course), but he eventually got over it without a word.

 

Nikolai regretted having kept it from them for as long as he had, but he hadn’t been sure what to say until he was absolutely sure he knew what he wanted from his relationship with Uosan.

 

After his grandsons’ wedding, Nikolai had returned to Russia without them. He lasted all of a month before packing up and joining his new family in a new country, far from everything he’d ever known, but so much closer to everyone he loved. He had so few reasons to stay in Moscow. It had been time to move on.

 

He met Uosan again on his second day in Hasetsu. He had been fishing on the bridge like he did every day. Uosan had remembered their conversation from the wedding and suggested they make pirozhki with fish filling together. Nikolai had agreed, eager to make a friend close to his own age.

 

What started as friendship evolved over a couple of short months. Casual touches like the one that Uosan had initiated at the wedding became exploratory, and eventually tender, as they fished, cooked, drank, and simply spent time together.

 

Soon enough, he was spending more time with Uosan than he was alone, or with anyone else for that matter. Uosan asked him to move into his cozy house on the water the following Spring. Nikolai had wanted to say yes, but he had something he needed to do first.

 

Yuri caught his eye as he and Yuuri spun past on the dance floor. His smile grew impossibly wider, and Nikolai’s heart grew impossibly larger.

 

No, he still didn’t think he was gay, but he had a lot of love in his heart, and he had found a man who stepped into a void that had been empty for too long, filling the space with love of his own.

 

His husband.

 

“I’ve known Kolya much longer than I’ve known Uosan,” Viktor began, standing before their family and friends with champagne in hand. “In fact, a lot of you have known Uosan much longer than I have!” The Hasetsu residents chuckled. “But just like he played a fundamental role in bringing together our Yuris, I like to think I helped him find Kolya.

 

“When I first came to Hasetsu, I thought I was in love. I chased Katsuki Yuuri back to his hometown after he seduced me with his pole dancing.” Yuuri groaned, burying his red face in his hands. “Oops! I wasn’t supposed to say that. Sorry, Kolya. Your grandson’s husband pole dances. It’s… very imrpessive. Sorry, Yuuri! Sorry!

 

“Anyway, I came to Hasetsu and Yuuri wasn’t really all that interested in me, not seriously at least, and before we became friends, he did everything in his power to avoid me, so I spent a lot of time exploring Hasetsu on my own. And that’s how I met Uosan. I passed him on the bridge whenever I would walk Makkachin in the morning, and I’d see him again when Yuuri and I would pass by on our way to Ice Castle.

 

“One day, when I was walking alone, he just struck up a conversation. You all know, in his Uosan way, he always says the right thing, but it’s also like, how did he know to say that? He said to me, ‘It seems like you are having a hard time getting through to Yuuri.’ And so we talked about him. Sorry, Yuuri! Oh wow, I didn’t think I’d be talking about you so much. I promise we didn’t say anything bad. He was helping me figure out how to get you to trust me as your coach.”

 

“Be serious, Vitya!” Uosan interjected with a laugh.

 

“Oh fine, Uosan, you’re right, as usual,” Viktor sighed. “I also whined about how I wanted Yuuri to love me. You were a very good sport, Uosan. And eventually, after Yura went through his last growth spurt, it became really obvious to everyone that Yuuri was interested in Russian men after all, he just liked them younger and with a thicker head of hair.”

 

Everyone laughed, except for Yuuri, who buried his face in his husband’s shoulder, blushing even more.

 

“I took him  _ and  _ all of your world records, old man!” Yuri taunted, laughing harder than all the rest.

 

“You wound me, Yura. No, it’s okay. You earned them all. But to sum everything up, because I know this is getting long: I was in love with Yuuri, and Yuri was in love with Yuuri, but Uosan probably thought Yuri was in love with me at first when he came looking for me in Hasetsu, and then finally Yuuri fell in love with Yuri, too. And that’s how Uosan and Kolya met, and that’s why we’re all here today.”

 

Viktor smiled warmly at them. Nikolai felt tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as Uosan squeezed his hand.

 

“Uosan and Kolya hit it off immediately at the Katsuki-Plisetsky wedding, and from Yuuri I learned that they became constant companions as soon as Kolya relocated to Hasetsu permanently. Yes, of course I had Yuuri keeping me in the loop! You must know that I know everything that’s going on here even when I’m back in St. Petersburg. The triplets keep me updated, too.”

 

He paused to wink at Axel, Lutz, and Loop. The teenagers giggled and then turned to whisper to one another.  _ Apparently, the Nishigori girls have a thing for Russian men, as well,  _ Nikolai thought with a smirk.  _ What is it with Hasetsu and Russians? _

 

“Even though Uosan and I talk almost every day, just like we did all those years ago, I found out about his relationship with Kolya before he told me. I was hurt at first, because I thought we had established a trust about these very kinds of topics way back when. But he was thinking of Kolya, making sure that he was comfortable before they let the cat out of the bag, so to speak. I knew from then on that Uosan was serious about Kolya, and once Kolya told the Yuris, I knew he was serious, too. And now I couldn’t be more honored to stand as your Best Man tonight, Uosan.

 

“So everyone, please raise your glasses and join me in congratulating the newlyweds. I wish the two of you a lifetime of happiness and fish pirozhki.”

 

Viktor tipped his glass in their direction and the rest of the guests cheered and applauded. He stepped off to the side, where he was immediately surrounded by the Nishigori triplets.

 

Yuri stood up next, seemingly reluctant to detach himself from his husband, but Yuuri waved him on with an encouraging smile.

 

Yuri fidgeted with the button on his jacket, staring into his glass of champagne for a moment. He cleared his throat.

 

“Dedushka,” he began, voice cracking. He paused, frowning. After a moment, he took a deep breath and steeled himself. “I had like… a whole thing planned out. But I can’t even remember it right now. All I can think of to say, all that I really  _ want  _ to say is…”

 

Yuri paused, looking uncertain, turning towards his husband. Yuuri smiled proudly at him and Nikolai felt a wave of affection for his grandsons build in his chest and erupt out of his eyes, tears getting trapped in his beard and trickling through to his smiling lips. Uosan’s grip on his hand tightened, and Nikolai squeezed back, overwhelmed by how much love he felt for everyone in this room, especially the man beside him and the man standing before them all.

 

“I need to say that I’m sorry, Dedushka.”

 

The air in the room seemed to stand still. Yuuri looked as confused as Nikolai felt.

 

“I never apologized for how I treated you when you told me and Yuuri that you were moving in with Uosan. I should have apologized. And now I can’t remember what I was going to say because all I can think about his how  _ sorry  _ I am.”

 

Nikolai moved to stand up, to stop him, because Yuri had nothing to apologize for, but Yuri motioned for him to stay.

 

“No, let me finish, please. Because you’ve only ever supported me. When I wanted to skate and all through my career, plus I was such a brat growing up, and I still am honestly. And when I told you that I was gay... That was like, a million years ago, but I still know how lucky I am that you never even thought about treating me differently. And how do I return the favor? I’m just a huge asshole, as usual. So what if you’re gay, or you’re not gay? You’re  _ happy.  _ And instead of recognizing that and being happy for you, I made it about myself because I’m selfish, and I was mad that you hadn’t told me sooner.”

 

Yuri stopped and knocked back half of his champagne and then stared at the floor for a moment.

 

“I’ve really fucked this up, haven’t I? Well, I guess, um, raise your glasses to the happy couple. They deserve to be happy, and we should be happy for them. I’m sorry I didn’t show it sooner. And thanks for making me your Best Man, Dedushka, even though I’m the worst grandson.”

 

He didn’t remember how he got there, but Nikolai was across the dance floor in a flash, wrapping his arms around his Yura and babbling reassurances into his ear while Yuuri hovered uncertainly behind them.

 

“Yuratchka, Yuratchka, how could you think any of those things? I must not tell you enough that I love you exactly how you are,” he whispered, crying into Yuri’s hair. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and you remind me of that everyday just by being yourself. I don’t want you to ever be anything else but yourself, do you understand? You’re not the worst grandson, you are  _ my  _ grandson, and that’s perfect. Okay?”

 

Yuri was crying now, clutching the front of Nikolai’s tuxedo in shaking fists.

 

“Yuri?” Yuuri ventured hesitantly, resting a hand on Yuri’s back. He had tears on his cheeks, too.

 

“Get in here,” Nikolai said, opening up his arms to include Yuuri in their wet embrace. “It’s alright, we’re all okay. No, we’re better than okay. We’re family.”

 

“Uosan,” Yuri said, reaching his arm under Nikolai’s, and pulling Uosan into their group hug.

 

“Yuri,” Uosan said with a smile, wrapping an arm around Yuri’s shoulders and leaning comfortably into Nikolai’s side. “That was a strange speech, but I think everyone is crying because we are all so happy.”

 

Yuri nodded, resting his head on Uosan’s shoulder. He frowned at something behind Nikolai.

 

“Oi, old man!”

 

Viktor stood behind them, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, hands clasped in front of him, and eyes as wide and wet as a puppy’s.

 

“You look like Makkachin, Viktor!” Uosan laughed.

 

“Oh, come on, you too,” Nikolai conceded, and Viktor leapt at the invitation, inserting himself right between the two grooms.

 

They stayed like that for awhile, even after the music struck back up and the rest of the guests awkwardly started to dance around them.

 

Nikolai hadn’t known that it was possible to be this happy. He’d been happy like this only a few times, and those moments were few and far between after the death of his wife. Yuri was his sole source of joy for so long, and he knew now that he hadn’t been able to move on to find his own life and love until Yuri had found his first. Somehow, the journey had led them both to this small town by the sea.

 

“Thank you all for coming,” Nikolai whispered.

 

“... to the wedding?” Yuuri asked, confused.

 

“No, I mean… into my life. Mine and Yura’s. Thank you. I could not have asked for a more perfect family.”


End file.
